Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs in German

Reflexive verbs refer back to the subject. They take a reflexive pronoun that agrees with the subject. Most use the accusative; dative reflexive pronouns are used when the verb already has an accusative object.

Reflexive pronouns

Person	Accusative	Dative
ich	mich	mir
du	dich	dir
er/sie/es/sie/Sie	sich	sich
wir	uns	uns
ihr	euch	euch

Common reflexive verbs (accusative)

Verb	Example
sich waschen	Ich wasche mich. (I wash myself.)
sich freuen	Ich freue mich. (I am pleased.)
sich erinnern	Ich erinnere mich daran. (I remember it.)
sich interessieren	Er interessiert sich für Musik.

Dative reflexive (with accusative object)

When the verb already takes an accusative object, the reflexive pronoun is dative:

Ich wasche mir die Hände. (I wash my hands.) — die Hände is the accusative object.

⚠️ Many German reflexive verbs don't translate as reflexive in English: sich erinnern = to remember (not "to remember oneself").